New York State Bar Revisits Nonlawyer Ownership

The head of the New York State Bar Association says the organization will study whether nonlawyers should be allowed to own a stake in law firms.

President Vincent E. Doyle III, speaking at an American Bar Association conference in New Orleans, said the idea “is worthy of serious consideration,” according to prepared remarks. But he said NYSBA “remains opposed to nonlawyer ownership of law firms.”

The issue had been settled since a little more than a decade ago, when “Big 5” accounting firms were trying to acquire law firms in the U.S., as they’d done in Europe. An ABA commission, siding with the accounting firms, recommended a change to the model rules to allow for nonlawyer ownership in law firms. . .